September 30, 2017

I’ll say this up front: I’m not a music guy. I don’t really listen to it. I’ve done nine hour drives through a few states without ever turning on the radio. I’ve tried at different points in my life for different reasons to really get into it, but it always lasts about a month before I revert back into not listening to anything.

The only exception to that is when I’m working (either at the job or while writing) when I’ll turn on movie soundtracks. I know…surprise! It really has more to do with just draining out background noise and being able to more effectively concentrate on what I’m doing rather than some need for sound.

All of that is my introduction to movie music! Which is to say, I’m very far from an expert on how to write it, compose it, or perform it. I can sort of still read sheet music from piano lessons in my childhood, but that’s about it. However, music is a big part of movies. A reader, Kimberly Gilbert, sent me this suggestion, so I thank her for bringing this to the forefront of my mind.

Types

In my mind, I see four different types of music:

1) Sourced, in context
2) Sourced, out of context
3) Produced, in context
4) Produced, out of context

What I mean by “in context” or “out of context” is to say that it has a definite source within the film itself. Think of Sam playing the piano in Casablanca or the kids listening to the radio in American Graffiti as opposed to an orchestral score by John Williams. Sourced would be music that existed before its inclusion in the movie (like using popular music or Mozart) while produced would be music specifically written for the movie.

Now, there’s a lot of blending between the four and many movies have a mix of them, of course, but this is how I categorize movie music. Most of what people think of in regards to the subject in the produced and out of context variety. This is John Williams’ march for Raiders of the Lost Ark or Max Steiner’s work on King Kong.

Uses

One of my pet peeves in modern movies is that I feel that much of it is over-scored. There’s too much music at all times as though producers and directors were afraid that people will fall asleep if there isn’t some trumpet blaring at every moment. I saw this most strikingly in Rogue One. I felt like, after about 40 minutes, that there hadn’t been a quiet moment since the movie had started. The clip below is from about 20 minutes into the movie and begins right after a hard cut from Saw Gerrera throwing the pilot at his weird truth telling monster.

In my mind that cut would have been more effective had the movie relied purely on the visuals of the moment instead of suddenly cutting to an off version of the Imperial March. The image itself is stark enough. Let us take that in instead of trying to overemphasize the point with the music.

But, that leads me to what music is actually for. Most often, it’s used to provide support and underline a specific emotion. Music ramps up when action scenes do, and we hear mournful strings when a beloved character dies. As with everything in fiction, it’s emotional manipulation (“We’re going to help you get excited by banging some drums really loudly”
, but in some ways it’s the most obvious form of it many times. There’s a subculture of movie fans who intensely dislike Spielberg, and one of the reasons they cite is how he uses music (most often provided by John Williams, of course). They say that the music is “telling people how to feel”, which I think is true. I just don’t really have a problem with a movie using every tool available to evoke emotions. That’s why I’m watching a movie, right?

Their argument does highlight the fact that music does have other uses than the obvious. Music can be used as an ironic counterpoint in a movie. Think of Kubrick using “We’ll meet again” at the end of Dr. Strangelove set to images of nuclear explosions as the world comes to an end. Does it accurately reflect the horror of nuclear war? No, but it does underline the overall absurdity that Kubrick is trying to dramatize throughout the entire film.

One item that Kimberly wrote to me about was her dislike for how the music was used in The Great Escape. I’ll let her explain:

Another badly scored movie (IMO) is The Great Escape, with the happy fife and drum music as the NAZIs lead Steve McQueen's character off to the cooler for thirty days. Like the punishment was a joke, or something easily borne, or leading up to a farcical escape. Disjointed to say the least. The movie was poorly scored from beginning to end, but that one particular scene with the happy march really irritates me and ruins the whole feel of the story.

I disagree, personally. I see that re-emergence of the light and jaunty tune appropriate at the end of the movie. McQueen is back in jail, several people are dead, and only two of the planned hundreds actually managed to get out, but, McQueen’s spirit is still alive. The music acts in tandem with the sound of McQueen bouncing the baseball around the cell again. But that’s just me.

Independence

Music produced for movies are designed to work in context, and that doesn’t always mean that a score can stand on its own. John Williams and Danny Elfman write music with themes that have some kind of formal roots in symphonic writing. Hans Zimmer can do that, but many of his scores end up sounding like repetitive noise when heard alone. Below is a track from his score for Dunkirk.

It just sounds like noise to me. In the context of the movie, though, it works at building and maintaining tension within the sequence. It’s the sort of music that’ll never win awards or sell many albums, but it works to support the movie, which is ultimately its purpose.

Some Favorites
As I said before, the little music I do listen to does tend to be exclusively movie music. So, here are some of my favorite pieces.

Harry-Gregson Williams made one of the best orchestral scores in movie history with his work on Kingdom of Heave, and he hasn’t done anything close to that quality ever since. My favorite piece from that score is “The Battle of Kerak”, below:

One of my favorite scores of the past decade is the score to How to Train Your Dragon. I honestly think that it helps elevate the movie as a whole.

The Third Man has a wonderful zither score that acts as counterpoint to the action on screen. Taking the movie on its own, it feels like it deserves a score more foreboding and depressing, but the upbeat score ends up working wonderfully well.

So, as you can see above, I watch Assassin’s Creed and hated it. It lit a bit of a fire in me, that hatred, and now I present you, the fine people of the Horde with an option. Do you wish me for me to eviscerate the movie in a post like I did with The Contender or not? Here’s a Survey Monkey survey you people can vote on.

Just remember, if you vote for it, I’ll be knowingly suffering through one of the worst movies of the last decade for your enjoyment.

Contact

Email any suggestions or questions to thejamesmadison.aos at symbol gmail dot com.

I’ve also archived all the old posts here, by request. I’ll add new posts a week after they originally post at the HQ.

4
No. 1 Son has movie music as his superpower. He's somewhere on the spectrum and his type get odd and useless superpowers.
He remembers all music and associates it with the scene it accompanied in a movie. So, he doesn't think twice about saying "the song from Silver Linings when she was taking a dump..." and expecting you to know what he's talking about.

Posted by: Bandersnatch, what is a proud Nitwit Lion at September 30, 2017 02:43 PM (gIRsn)

5
Vangelis has made some of my favorite soundtracks. Bladerunner, The Bounty, and Chariots of Fire. I'm a Bladerunner fan boy but the other 2 movies are very good in there own right. Vangelis's soundtracks fit perfectly with them. I'm not even a fan of that 'new age' sound. Or whatever its called.

9
I watched the Gambler because of this clip: https://youtu.be/rJjKP8vYjpQ
To stay on topic, the music seemed disjointed. And Mark Wahlberg plays a despicable person you just don't sympathize with.
I suspect that movies that are scored well are the ones where you don't remember the music. I did like the music in Goodfellas.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at September 30, 2017 02:45 PM (Lqy/e)

10
The film score for Patton and The Magnificent Seven are among my favorites.

Posted by: dantesed at September 30, 2017 02:45 PM (88xKn)

11
Rogue One was near-ruined by a number of factors, but staggered across the finish line with a C+. By contrast the May-Rey Suuuuue movie was a damned abomination.

30
I boycotted Star Trek Beyond at the theatre and at Red Box on account of it retconning Sulu into a homosexual, which decision Takei himself slammed on Twitter.
It was Takei's stance that if he had failed to present Sulu as a convincing heterosexual on set, then he had failed as an actor. I really really don't like Takei but he called it on this one.
(Also, unstated I suspect - if Sulu was straight in his timeline and gay in the Abrams alternate, then there's something to the theory that homosexuality is either a choice or a post-birth disease.)
So I got Star Trek Beyond at the library for "free" (with my taxes). I'll see how it goes. I can bite my pillow grit my teeth through the Sulu scenes.

34
26 One of my movie pet peeves is when the style of the music doesn't match the setting.If a movie is set in 1725, I expect baroque music, not jazz.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Doppelganger To the Stars! at September 30, 2017 07:50 PM (Nwg0u)
A Knight's Tale was an very good movie.

Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 02:51 PM (LuKE7)

35
>>> If a movie is set in 1725, I expect baroque music, not jazz.
I did enjoy the anachronistic settings that Kenneth Branaugh used for his Shakespeare movies.

37 One of my movie pet peeves is when the style of the music doesn't match the setting.If a movie is set in 1725, I expect baroque music, not jazz.Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Doppelganger To the Stars! at September 30, 2017 07:50 PM (Nwg0u)

Like that King Arthur movie they did a few years back with a rock soundtrack. I mean, come on...

40
Music in a lot of Sixties; films was purposefully discordant or put in intentionally not to fit in a conventional sense. Kelly's Heroes, Butch Cassidy, M*A*S*H, etc. they were trying to be hip and counterculture, i suppose. always wondered about that.

48
The post prequel Star Wars movies are not even event movies. They don't rate important enough that I should be happy if they are good, or angry if they are bad.
Tron Legacy has maybe the best electronic soundtrack since Blade Runner.
https://youtu.be/9S1RIiWhcgA

55
Most memorable produced out of context scores for me: the banjo theme in Ravenous, and the piccolo theme in the Good the Bad and the Ugly.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 30, 2017 02:56 PM (/qEW2)

56
The film score for Patton and The Magnificent Seven are among my favorites.
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I love the scene near the beginning of Patton featuring the horse-mounted drum and bugle corps, particularly the timpani. If I win the lottery, I'll have horse-mounted timpani introduce my arrival everywhere.
(Both the movies mentioned have excellent scores.)

58
Kubrick was a genius with how-you-say sourced music. The use of Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Richard Strauss in 2001 was inspired, as was his use of the atonal pieces when the hominids encounter the monolith and then when the spacecraft is flying over the surface of the Moon on its way to another monolith. And Khachaturian's piece, used to introduce the third section of the film with the large spacecraft on its way to Jupiter with only two guys awake on board just evokes loneliness. Strangely, I've never appreciated the use of Johann Strauss's On the Beautiful Blue Danube at the beginning of the second section even though normal people love it.
In the Shining, there's one moment where the camera just slowly closes in on Jack Nicholson while he remains completely still, looking into the camera with a slightly crazed look on his face, the music playing is atonal and just sounds evil. Kubrick was just an absolute genius with music.

59
I'm listening right now to one of my favorites: Dances With Wolves by John Barry. The Journey to Ft. Dunbar and the following music when they're riding in the wagon over the plains and hills. The music so fits the scenery. I can listen to it over and over again.

68
Do you remember what commercial used the theme to the Magnificant Seven?
Wasnt' it Marlboro?

Posted by: Pete Seria at September 30, 2017 02:59 PM (lJW6d)

69
I already have my ticket for Blade Runner 2049.
I will maintain zen-like detachment. Even though Villeneuve is directing, I can see the liver-spotted hand of Ridley pulling the strings. He's failed my too many times of late.
Hans Zimmer and some cat named Benjamin Wallfisch are doing the score.

70
Actually with Tron Legacy I can't remember single bit of the music. Even though I am something of a Daft Punk fan, the music never registered. In fact the only song that registered was at the beginning with the jukebox in Flynn's arcade.

71
65 Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Doppelganger To the Stars! at September 30, 2017 07:56 PM (Nwg0u)
Do you remember what commercial used the theme to the Magnificant Seven?
Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 07:58 PM (LuKE7)
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One of the actors apologized to Bernstein after he heard the music saying that if he had known the music was going to be that good he would have ridden his horse better.

74
One of my movie pet peeves is when the style of the music doesn't match the setting.If a movie is set in 1725, I expect baroque music, not jazz.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Doppelganger To the Stars! at September 30, 2017 07:50 PM (Nwg0u)
A Knight's Tale was an very good movie.
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That was sooooo ridiculous, it was kinda fun.

76
Recentlly watched two 1960s movies that were defined by their soundtrack- Breakfast at Tiffany's and Bye Bye Birdie. The first gave us the plaintive classic Moon River, and Birdie featured a book whose songs are in the top tier of American show tunes.

81
Going to see the full director's cut of "Once Upon a Time in America" next week. Almost four hours of Sergio Leone's final outing.
Saw the butchered version when it came out in '84 so I am hoping the director's intended cut will be the masterpiece a lot of people say it is.

82
Musical Pet Peeves:
1. The type or style of music is inappropriate of the time period. Like Tarantino using rap music in Django. Rap hadn't been invented yet, so it doesn't work for that time period. That doesn't mean the music has to actually been written during that time, just that it should sound like it was.
2. The music is just too damn loud compared to the rest of the "in-context" sounds. Especially speech. I hate having to constantly fiddle with the volume, turning it up when there is speaking and then turning it back down when the special effects are blasting me.
3. When the music is just too obviously manipulative. This seems to happen most with down or quiet moments, with the full orchestra coming up with lush strings trying to make me sympathetic to whatever is going on onscreen. Pro-tip: if the story is compelling, you don't need to overplay that crap. If the story isn't compelling, overplaying that crap won't save it.

85
The great Elmer Bernstein composed the score of "Magnificent Seven" as well as "The Great Escape." The latter in particular has several memorable sub themes that are almost characters in and of themselves.
The other brilliant composers that are my favorites are John Barry and Jerry Goldsmith.

86
I am a music person, bigly.Loved Oingo Boingo before Elfman started his slow decent into Burtonism, but some of his frst soundtracks were excellent.

The Third Man is a classic.Of course, Mancini made pretty much every movie he worked on memorable (even Hatari).

Best soundtrack soundtrack?Casino Royale, the one with too many people in it.

Posted by: Clutch Cargo at September 30, 2017 03:03 PM (RHEDC)

87
When the music is just too obviously manipulative. This seems to happen most with down or quiet moments, with the full orchestra coming up with lush strings trying to make me sympathetic to whatever is going on onscreen.
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Ah. The NPR gambit. Cue the poignant music!

91
Our local news used to use the music from Cool Hand Luke's road crew scene. I heard it from them before I heard it in the movie. Weird on my repeat viewings of CHL.

Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 03:04 PM (LuKE7)

92
74 One of my movie pet peeves is when the style of the music doesn't match the setting.If a movie is set in 1725, I expect baroque music, not jazz.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Doppelganger To the Stars! at September 30, 2017 07:50 PM (Nwg0u)
A Knight's Tale was an very good movie.
-
That was sooooo ridiculous, it was kinda fun.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Doppelganger To the Stars! at September 30, 2017 08:00 PM (Nwg0u)
The dance scene where the medieval-ish music morphs into David Bowie's Golden Years is awesome.

Posted by: Insomniac at September 30, 2017 03:04 PM (NWiLs)

93
81: I have it on DVD, special edition, unless there is another version floating around out there. Have they found some extra footage of it recently? It clocks in to about 4 hours but its a 'fast' 4 hours. Great movie!

94
86
Best soundtrack soundtrack?
Casino Royale, the one with too many people in it.
Posted by: Clutch Cargo at September 30, 2017 08:03 PM (RHEDC)
Herb Alpert and the TJB! Also, Dusty Springfield singing "The Look of Love."

99
Tarantino's a twat, but his soundtracks are brilliant, as are some of his movies. He has used a lot of great rock music, like Scorsese, but he's also employed the great Ennio Morricone to great effect. Music is just as essential to his movies as his trademark snappy dialogue and sudden ultra-violence. I have his soundtracks in a file on my home network, and they've been played until I got tired of them.

Posted by: Octopus at September 30, 2017 03:05 PM (TjN6o)

100
The other 60s movie I saw was The Graduate. It's remembered mainly for the MILFy plot, but the action took place over a Simon and Garfunkle soundtrack.

Posted by: kallisto at September 30, 2017 03:05 PM (eO2Z0)

101
The music in Guardians of the Galaxy movies is key to the movies .

Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 03:05 PM (LuKE7)

102
Don't care about Assassin's Creed'; haven't seen it. Don't torture your self.
Movie Music. two that I like are bits from Babylon AD especially 'leaving the monastery'; and the scene of the car traveling through uninhabited wilderness.
I also love the bit in Last of the Mohicans - Promentory.
And I have the theme from "DragonBorn"; love it. Never played the game, I think it's a game.
Two movies I watched this week - Looper, and Pay Back. Hated them both. Looper made no sense except for about thirty seconds in the last two minutes of the film. Pay Back was stereotypical gangsters, and corrupt cops, and a guy that everyone beats up. Hated both movies. They make me reluctant to risk real money on more movies.

104
Kevin Costner's first role - he played the dead guy and his scenes were cut.
Posted by: Jeff Weimer
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William Hurt's line, "I'm evolving..." stuck in my mind. I used it later when I started waffling on ghey marriage. No one called me on it.

Posted by: Barky at September 30, 2017 03:06 PM (58eZn)

105Most often, it's used to provide support and underline a specific emotion. Music ramps up when action scenes do, and we hear mournful strings when a beloved character dies. As with everything in fiction, it's emotional manipulation ("We're going to help you get excited by banging some drums really loudly")
It seems to me 99% of scores are like this. Consider a horror movie - a few ominous chords from the bass fiddles to let you know some monster is probably lurking nearby. It's more like a sound effect than music. There's no real melody, no theme.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 30, 2017 03:06 PM (/qEW2)

106
All Hail Eris, to get in the mood of Blade Runner here is Watanabe's short anime called Blade Runner Black Out 2022. Almost 16 minutes. Edward James Olmos voices Gaff. Shinji Aramaki did the Spinner designs.

107
2. The music is just too damn loud compared to the rest of the "in-context" sounds. Especially speech. I hate having to constantly fiddle with the volume, turning it up when there is speaking and then turning it back down when the special effects are blasting me.
This is my biggest movie pet peeve. The music/FX track is recorded at like three times the volume of the dialogue, and you alternate between being not being able to hear a thing or being pinned to the wall from the eighty bajillion decibels blasting through the speakers.

Posted by: Insomniac at September 30, 2017 03:08 PM (NWiLs)

108
102 Don't care about Assassin's Creed'; haven't seen it. Don't torture your self. .
.
Posted by: Skandia Recluse at September 30, 2017 08:06 PM (m9X4Y)
=========
As of this moment, it looks like the Horde wanted me to suffer.
I'm just here to do the Horde's bidding.

110
Most memorable produced out of context scores for me: the banjo theme in Ravenous
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 30, 2017 07:56 PM
One of the best. The score throughout the whole movie was fantastic.

Posted by: otho at September 30, 2017 03:08 PM (qGuLD)

111
109 How can you do a post on movie soundtracks without mentioning Ennio Morricone?
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader & Culture Producer at September 30, 2017 08:08 PM (cvoba)
See me at 81.

112
Movie music likes:
Conan the Barbarian (the original).
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Spiderman

Posted by: MAGA at September 30, 2017 03:08 PM (LnOh3)

113
I think the music score for Ferris Bueller's Day Off was an integral part of the movie. Remember the action scene of him racing home to beat his dad? All in sync with the music. Even the closing music "dun dun Ohhh Yeah!" or whatever it's called is a big part of my memory of the movie.
Great score throughout. I feel like watching the movie again now.

Posted by: bananaDream at September 30, 2017 03:09 PM (yfaSg)

114 Tora , Tora, Tora was on TCM this afternoon. I had to do yardwork. Drat.
Kurosawa was supposed to direct the Japanese half of that but had a falling out with the producers. I'd have loved to have seen that.

Posted by: Bandersnatch, what is a proud Nitwit Lion at September 30, 2017 03:09 PM (gIRsn)

116
The only soundtrack to a US movie I own and play is from "Streets of Fire."

However from my anime days I have quite a few music CDs. favorites would be Bubblegum Crisis and Utena just off the top of my head.

Mostly I like out of context movie music to not be memorable but there are exceptions like "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" and the above mentioned Utena. What got me to get the entire series of that one, was one piece of music from one episode.

Posted by: geoffb at September 30, 2017 03:09 PM (zOpu5)

117
105 It seems to me 99% of scores are like this. Consider a horror movie - a few ominous chords from the bass fiddles to let you know some monster is probably lurking nearby. It's more like a sound effect than music. There's no real melody, no theme.
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 30, 2017 08:06 PM (/qEW2)
======
I think, in general, music with themes are more effective in context than music that's mostly just repetitive noises.

Most over used source music in movie soundtracks. Beethoven's "Ode to Joy".

Posted by: AshevilleRobert at September 30, 2017 03:09 PM (w+Jhj)

121
I always like to listen to light classical music when I want to relax or when I entertain my lady friends.
Then I heard someone say somewhere that the old westerns always played classical stuff in the background even though you didn't realize it when you were watching the movies.
Now I realize why I like classical music even though I was never around it as a young shaver other than the old westerns.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 30, 2017 03:10 PM (nUkMr)

122
The Mission soundtrack is awesome as a stand-alone and fits the movie perfectly. (In my humble opinion, for what it's worth)
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Ennio Morricone deserved his Oscar a hundred times over but he won it for The Hateful Eight which sucked donkey dongs.

127
And then..... there are GREAT musicals... written for actors who were not great singers...
Like...
A Funny Thing happened on the way to the Forum...
Zero Mostel...
or for heavens sake.... Clint Eastwood in 'Paint your Wagon'... who sucked, but Lee Marvin, who had one of the best songs in the movie.

Posted by: Don Q. at September 30, 2017 03:10 PM (NgKpN)

128
If you want to hear the grandfather score of your Kingdom of Heaven battle-scene, listen to Prokofiev's "Battle on the Ice" from the movie Alexander Nevsky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4S16viz8d0

129
Watched an offbeat horror movie last night that I really got into: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_dark_song/
Didn't pay attention to the score, but I'm sure it was "unsettling," like the rest of the flick. Not a blood and guts slasher at all, this one is about messing with the dark side, and real human tragedy.

133
109 How can you do a post on movie soundtracks without mentioning Ennio Morricone?
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader & Culture Producer at September 30, 2017 08:08 PM (cvoba)
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By trying to stay away from the more obvious stuff. I knew Morricone would get his due in the comments, the only thing anyone reads anyway.

138
Favorite film scores?
John Williams
The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars
Return of the Jedi
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Superman
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Jerry Goldsmith
Alien
Logan's Run
Star Trek the Motion Picture
Outland
Capricorn One
Vangelis
Blade Runner
James Horner
Star Trek 2: the Wrath of Khan

Posted by: Darth Randall at September 30, 2017 03:12 PM (v3DL/)

139
Stanley Kubrick used classical music very effectively in his movies. 2001 comes to mind

142
I think it was Chariots of Fire that had that soundtrack that sucks so bad but everybody else liked it so what do I know.

Posted by: freaked at September 30, 2017 03:13 PM (UdKB7)

143
a few ominous chords from the bass fiddles to let you know some monster is probably lurking nearby.
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The problem with real life is there's no danger music to warn you when you're about to screw up.

147
I don't know much about movie soundtracks, but I recalled how Easy Rider broke new ground in using current music in place of studio arrangements. From ultimate-guitar.com :

One of the groundbreaking aspects of Easy Rider is its music. Hollywood soundtracks until then were usually an instrumental background score or a collection of songs written specifically for a film. The extensive use of pop and rock music for a film's soundtrack was unusual at the time, especially since the film lacks a classical score.

The idea came from Donn Cambern, the editor who used various music from his own record collection to make watching hours of the bike road movie footage more interesting during editing. Cambern and Hopper selected songs for the Easy Rider soundtrack based on stuff they heard on the radio in 1968. The licensing cost $1 million, more than the total budget of the movie. It featured The Band, The Byrds, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Steppenwolf.

Yeah, the budget for the movie itself was $360k. Half of that was spent on pot. Or so. The soundtrack album reached #6 on Billboard, and went Gold.

Posted by: GnuBreed [/i] [/b] at September 30, 2017 03:14 PM (0ogQG)

148
The music is just too damn loud compared to the rest of the "in-context" sounds. Especially speech. I hate having to constantly fiddle with the volume, turning it up when there is speaking and then turning it back down when the special effects are blasting me.
This is my biggest movie pet peeve. The music/FX track is recorded at like three times the volume of the dialogue, and you alternate between being not being able to hear a thing or being pinned to the wall from the eighty bajillion decibels blasting through the speakers.
Posted by: Insomniac at September 30, 2017 08:08 PM
Yep. Way too loud and often, way too much of it.

Posted by: otho at September 30, 2017 03:14 PM (qGuLD)

149
I love movie soundtracks, I own many. In my opinion, the best classical music being made today is actually being done in movie soundtracks. There's no money to composing any more, except in that area, so that's where the composers are.

150
a few ominous chords from the bass fiddles to let you know some monster is probably lurking nearby.
--------
Monster? I'm no 'monster'.

Posted by: Jaws at September 30, 2017 03:14 PM (58eZn)

151
Scorsese's "Mean Streets" and "Goodfellas" set the bar high for rock and roll scores.

Posted by: Octopus at September 30, 2017 03:16 PM (TjN6o)

152
Jerry Goldsmith
Alien
Logan's Run
Star Trek the Motion Picture
Outland
Capricorn One
Goldsmith also scored the Chuck Heston Planet of the Apes which was good. He did the theme for the Man From Uncle and scored some early episodes. His style is very distinctive that you can pick out the ones he did

Posted by: TheQuietMan at September 30, 2017 03:16 PM (auHtY)

153
Here is a very little known Morricone track. For the last season of The Virginian they added the title "Men From Shiloh" and created a very Leone type opening credit with a theme composed by Morricone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP5wonZRJKA

Posted by: mark1971 at September 30, 2017 03:16 PM (xPl2J)

154
We saw Assassin's Creed un theaters. Kid the Elder liked it.
For me it was one of those movies that almost could have been good.
Saw Transformers Last Knight on dvd. What a mess of a movie.

155
Personally I thought the zither theme for 3rd man, played 850 times over and over, was awful. It didn't fit the movie at all and was bizarrely jarring. It was the only flaw in an otherwise great film.

156
I'm watching the Tennis Channel. Every other commercial is for Battle of the Sexes. The Bobby Rigg's snippets are pretty funny though.

Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 03:16 PM (LuKE7)

157
'The guy from Quadrophenia just died the other day'
That reminds me. Tommy. I liked that movie. The music was pretty good. I saw it again after BO got elected and noticed some parallels

Posted by: freaked at September 30, 2017 03:16 PM (UdKB7)

158
This is my biggest movie pet peeve. The music/FX track is recorded at like three times the volume of the dialogue, and you alternate between being not being able to hear a thing or being pinned to the wall from the eighty bajillion decibels blasting through the speakers.
Posted by: Insomniac at September 30, 2017 08:08 PM
Yep. Way too loud and often, way too much of it.
Posted by: otho at September 30, 2017 08:14 PM (qGuLD)
Thirded. I don't need the walls shaking to hear it

Posted by: TheQuietMan at September 30, 2017 03:16 PM (auHtY)

159
I agree about Ferris Bueller's music being integral. Makes me think of Axel F in Beverly Hills Cop.

Posted by: UDM at September 30, 2017 03:16 PM (cuC7S)

160
Aside from the initial Bond films, one of John Barry's best and most moving scores was for "Somewhere in Time."
I thought that the way the film was shot was kind of flat and boring from a visual standpoint, but his haunting and beautiful love theme, which complemented the Rachmaninoff concerto perfectly, not only saved the picture but makes it eminently more watchable and memorable.

163
Music too loud.
Had that problem with Looper and Payback. The special effects explosions were too loud, and the dialog was whispers. Couldn't understand the dialog, and the neighbors knew I was watching movies at 3 am because of the sound effects.

164
The reason Kurosawa Akira was yanked from Tora! Tora! Tora was simple, he was blowing up the budget more quickly than the Japanese did to USS Arizona. Days and days of filming with almost no useable, to Kurosawa, footage so the studio gave him the heave-ho.

165
I do, however, agree that most modern movies are overscored, wayy too much music used to manipulate emotional reaction (also, overuse of post-production coloring and lighting, another topic) instead of good filmmaking and acting.

166
Bugs Bunny - William Tell Overture
Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 08:12 PM (LuKE7)
Cool! I did not know that either. I liked the cartoon shorts in the movies back in the day and usually it was something like that but I wouldn't have known.
Thanks!

168
152
Goldsmith also scored the Chuck Heston Planet of the Apes which was good. He did the theme for the Man From Uncle and scored some early episodes. His style is very distinctive that you can pick out the ones he did
Posted by: TheQuietMan at September 30, 2017 08:16 PM (auHtY)
Plus Tora Tora Tora and Chinatown. His signature for me is the use of the bottom keys on the piano.

171So I got Star Trek Beyond at the library for "free" (with my taxes). I'll see how it goes. I canbite my pillow grit my teeth through the Sulu scenes.
Posted by: boulder terlit hobo, free Cannibal Bob! at September 30, 2017 07:51 PM (6RtAS)
---
As far as I'm concerd "Beyond" was the best of the Abramsverse movies. Your mileage may vary.
Gay Sulu isn't that bad, it's only one scene and otherwise it isn't mentioned.

Posted by: Darth Randall at September 30, 2017 03:19 PM (v3DL/)

172
i agree, movies are overscored. they can't leave a moment unfilled for you to think.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 30, 2017 03:20 PM (AxFdW)

173
John Barry who scored a number of Bond movies also did a ton of very good movies. Zulu, Ipcress File, The Lion in Winter to name a very few

175
163 Music too loud.
Had that problem with Looper and Payback. The special effects explosions were too loud, and the dialog was whispers. Couldn't understand the dialog, and the neighbors knew I was watching movies at 3 am because of the sound effects.
Posted by: Skandia Recluse at September 30, 2017 08:17 PM (m9X4Y)
=========
Mixes on DVDs are designed for surround sound, so if you have it all coming it if one channel, it's pushing 5.1 out of a single speaker, which causes that effect.
Some DVDs have stereo tracks which sound better on normal systems, otherwise, you're kind of screwed without a better sound setup.

176
Posted by: GnuBreed at September 30, 2017 08:14 PM (0ogQG)
I'm sorry... but thats bullshit...
Hollywood constantly reused songs throughout the heyday of musicals... even to the point of creating entire movie scripts to fit a song.
Like how a song in Holiday Inn morphed into White Christmas....
because White Christmas was an immensely popular song in album sales...

Posted by: Don Q. at September 30, 2017 03:20 PM (NgKpN)

177
Stanley Kubrick used classical music very effectively in his movies. 2001 comes to mind
Posted by: TheQuietMan at September 30, 2017 08:13 PM
And he used it sparingly. I'm not a fan of scores (in particular) that just go on and on and on. Let the scenes do the talking. More often than not, it's better without a score... if it's a good movie. All too often the score is a crutch for less than stellar scenes/acting/writing/editing etc.

Posted by: otho at September 30, 2017 03:20 PM (qGuLD)

178
Based on the reviews I've seen for American Made, I may eventually watch it on Netflix, or not. But I've been watching Narcos on Netflix, and it is really good, and covers some of the same ground as Made, but without too much Reagan bashing.

Sure, US politics were a part of the drug war in Colombia, but what isn't.

Posted by: GnuBreed [/i] [/b] at September 30, 2017 03:20 PM (0ogQG)

179
Basil Pouldouris was inspired by Ennio Morricone. In Red Sonja, the favor is returned. There was also a Conan video game with a beautiful epic soundtrack.
Here's a bit of Conan.
https://youtu.be/GaBk7sBaaus
Tyler Bates had to settle out of court with Elliot Goldenthal because part of the music in 300 sounds just like the opening to Julie Taymor's Titus Andronicus. Both movies are owned by WB. Directors have been known to ask the composer to make a piece sound more like the temp track, over and over again until the two pieces converge.
https://youtu.be/8tAT_A71WOs

182
Plus Tora Tora Tora and Chinatown. His signature for me is the use of the bottom keys on the piano.
Posted by: J.J. Sefton at September 30, 2017 08:18 PM (mbhDw)
I think he also did In Harm's Way with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. And I agree about the bottom keys on the piano. Very distinctive.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at September 30, 2017 03:22 PM (auHtY)

183
171 As far as I'm concerd "Beyond" was the best of the Abramsverse movies. Your mileage may vary.
Gay Sulu isn't that bad, it's only one scene and otherwise it isn't mentioned.
Posted by: Darth Randall at September 30, 2017 08:19 PM (v3DL/)
======
It's the one of the three that feels most like Star Trek. It's the lightest and most fun, too.

184
The brown note that permeates all of Michael Moore's filmic excretion is more effective than all of his cut-and-paste propaganda points. Theaters have been closed and abandoned for good, when clean-up funds were lacking.

Posted by: Octopus at September 30, 2017 03:22 PM (TjN6o)

185
I'm about to rent Baby Driver On Demand. Is it worth 5.99?
I was going to do it the other night but La La Land was playing for free on HBO. Good movie but a very sad ending in my opinion.

188
185 I'm about to rent Baby Driver On Demand. Is it worth 5.99?
I was going to do it the other night but La La Land was playing for free on HBO. Good movie but a very sad ending in my opinion.
Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 08:22 PM (LuKE7)
=======
I paid for the theater ticket and loved it. But that's just me.

191I'm watching the Tennis Channel. Every other commercial is for Battle of the Sexes. The Bobby Rigg's snippets are pretty funny though.
Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 08:16 PM (LuKE7)
---
I'm probably wrong here, but didn't he later admit to throwing the game?

194
The Lion in Winter sound track is my favorite. It paints sound images that support the visual on screen. I enjoy it without the movie. Peter O'Toole is a great Henry II.

Posted by: lurking grandma at September 30, 2017 03:24 PM (sujqA)

195
TheJamesMadison's Phone at September 30, 2017 08:20
I blame my cheap, no name 5.1 channel surround sound amp. I think it is lacking some codecs.
It used to work, years ago. One sound effect in particular used to startle you until you watched it enough times to see it coming. And in the TV series Firefly the "Objects in Space' episode has River Tam's laugh goes from one side of the room to the other, and then down the hall.
Doesn't do that any more.

198
195 It used to work, years ago. One sound effect in particular used to startle you until you watched it enough times to see it coming. And in the TV series Firefly the "Objects in Space' episode has River Tam's laugh goes from one side of the room to the other, and then down the hall.
Doesn't do that any more.
Posted by: Skandia Recluse at September 30, 2017 08:25 PM (m9X4Y)
======
My favorite effect on a home system is from Master and Commander when it honest to God sounds like people are running over your head on a wooden deck.

199
The Lion in Winter sound track is my favorite. It paints sound images that support the visual on screen. I enjoy it without the movie. Peter O'Toole is a great Henry II.
Posted by: lurking grandma at September 30, 2017 08:24 PM (sujqA)
It's an incredibly good cast except for Katherine Hepburn. I never could stand her or her creaky voice

Posted by: TheQuietMan at September 30, 2017 03:26 PM (auHtY)

200
Has anyone watched "Easy Rider" lately? I haven't seen it in about 20 years. I have to believe the hippie politics would be a mite off-putting to me now, though I'm sure the soundtrack still rocks.

Posted by: Octopus at September 30, 2017 03:27 PM (TjN6o)

201
There's too much music at all times as though producers and directors
were afraid that people will fall asleep if there isn't some trumpet
blaring at every moment.

202
Posted by: Darth Randall at September 30, 2017 08:24 PM (v3DL/)
No he never admitted it and his son said he didn't but it's not out of the question based on his gambling addiction. Of course his gambling debts would have had to be more than a Hundred grand because that's what he lost if he threw the match.

205
Oooo... I forgot Jerry Goldsmith did "Patton" as well. Good stuff.

Posted by: Darth Randall at September 30, 2017 03:28 PM (v3DL/)

206
In the days of silent films, live orchestras performed the music. Eugene Ormandy, longtime conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, got his start that way having been concertmaster for the Roxy. Now a click track is used to synchronize music and action but not in the 20's. Ormandy's sense of timing was so acute that he was said to have not only perfect pitch but perfect time. For a recording of a piece for a 78 side of five minutes, he did it perfectly in 4:59.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 30, 2017 03:29 PM (cPZRj)

207It's an incredibly good cast except for Katherine Hepburn. I never could stand her or her creaky voice
That's all right, luv, I'll have your Katherine Hepburn. Oy luv her!

Posted by: The Guy from the Spam Skit at September 30, 2017 03:29 PM (gIRsn)

209Here is a very little known Morricone track. For the last season of The Virginian they added the title "Men From Shiloh" and created a very Leone type opening credit with a theme composed by Morricone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP5wonZRJKA
That is so cool. Now I want to watch those episodes of The Virginian.

211
I think the Coen brothers use music effectively. I could be biased, because I love Iris Dement's voice, but "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" is a great finale for True Grit.
-
Their early movies featured good, but strange, music. I'm thinking Raising Arizona and Miller's Crossing. They've been more convential lately.
Speaking of effective sort of off kilter music somewhat similar to the upbeat Great Escape theme, Leo Tommygunning the hired killers sent to kill him in Miller's Crossing to the tune of Oh Danny Boy was very good.

215
Bridge over the River Kwai
youtu.be/uW-DahcNQv8
Posted by: Soundtrack Earworm at September 30, 2017 08:23 PM (bCcW5)
Oooooo...good one. My Uncle, who served from Schofield Barracks in 1936 to Yokohama into the 1950s (career Army) and my brothers were watching that and when the Brits came in whistling (Colonel Bogey's March?) we asked him if that's what he did.
He looked at us like we had three heads and said "Hell no, you idiots!".

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 30, 2017 03:32 PM (nUkMr)

216
remember the movie THE DISH with Sam Whathisname?
Probably not, because it wasn't a big movie. But it was very, very good.
The soundtrack is excellent, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaSK5ST64_E&list=PLCPiz5qAViiCtcGBPBp8zhi2s_F-VkiP8

218
I love movie soundtracks, I own many. In my opinion, the best classical music being made today is actually being done in movie soundtracks. There's no money to composing any more, except in that area, so that's where the composers are.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 30, 2017 08:14 PM (39g3+)
A lot of money for composers in the video game industry. There are some great scores in a lot of games.

219
Another movie music composer to mention is Lalo Schifrin who did Dirty Harry and the Mission Impossible theme

Posted by: TheQuietMan at September 30, 2017 03:33 PM (auHtY)

220
The very best use of music is IMHO, sourced in context... where it appears in place in a scene. Ideally, only that. I like musical scores, but they're all too often rubbish that adds nothing and are even a distraction, taking you out of the moment. A movie score needs to be more than just adequate, it has to be fantastic, so you notice it and feel something beyond just "sad" or "exciting". Not a fan of scores that prompt just for the sake of it. The emotion should come from the film, you shouldn't need to be prodded if they're doing it right. Absolutely fantastic scores get a pass... even if they are obtrusive, because they're too damn good... but, they should highlight the moment.

Posted by: otho at September 30, 2017 03:33 PM (qGuLD)

221
Music makes or breaks a movie for me. Every time.
Movies with simple story lines become infinitely more interesting with a perfect score. The indie move Once fits this category. Amazing songs, sung simply, usually with only a guitar or piano are featured throughout. Lovely.
Sound effects, aside from music, mostly break a movie for me. Dunkirk was too crowded, phonically. I don't need to feel the base of the ominous beat playing so loudly that my bones rattle to know that the bad guys are coming and they are bringing hell with them.

Posted by: squeakywheel at September 30, 2017 03:33 PM (GUhcs)

222
193: i guess i mean "all" not in the actual sense that every music score is derived from stravinsky but more in the generalized sense of exaggeration to make a point that has some truth to it, e.g. all modern art comes from cezanne.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 30, 2017 03:33 PM (AxFdW)

223
Hans Zimmer's soundtrack to _The Power of One_ is awesome.
https://youtu.be/QtZhuHtJ35o

Posted by: logprof at September 30, 2017 03:34 PM (GsAUU)

224
Greetings:
I've been watching a lot of Asian movies and serial dramas lately and they seem to different ideas about context. A Japanese serial drama (hoppy-choppy, slicey-dicey) I'm currently following runs its end credits over a Gypsy Kings kind of number.

226
Posted by: squeakywheel at September 30, 2017 08:33 PM (GUhcs)
I thought I was the only one that watched Once.
Did you see August Rush?

Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 03:35 PM (LuKE7)

227
The Slim Pickens death scene from Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid with Knocking On Heaven's Door is incredible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjR7_U2u3sM

Posted by: mark1971 at September 30, 2017 03:35 PM (xPl2J)

228
Sort of thread related, my son has declared his dream job is to score music for video games. Now, mind you, he plays no instruments, and the only musical instruction he has received was at school. So, this week, we picked up a digital piano and enrolled in lessons. We'll see how it goes.

Posted by: no good deed at September 30, 2017 03:35 PM (eIQHF)

229
Wouldn't it be great if music played in the background of your own life. Then when you are in one of those awkard situations, the music would tell you if it joke time, or time to be serious, or Watch Out...someone is gonna rip into you like a monkey on a cupcake.

230
Last time I watched Easy Rider, Dennis Hopper was the sanest one there. (I'm thinking about the hippies throwing grain on crappy soil).
I don't know if I'd call the scores successful but Officer and a Gentleman and Urban Cowboy have songs that really make the movie.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at September 30, 2017 03:36 PM (Lqy/e)

231
'e.g. all modern art comes from cezanne.'
If you are speaking of modern scores then yea maybe. When do you think his influence first appeared?

241
237
Speaking of Apocalypse Now, the scene with the helicopter attack where they play Wagner because it's scares the shit out of the slopes is a classic
Posted by: TheQuietMan at September 30, 2017 08:37 PM (auHtY)
======
Great scene in Jarhead plays off of that. They start playing music from Apocalypse Now and the main character says, "Can't we get our own music?"

243
239 A lot of money for composers in the video game industry.
-
I love the L.A. Noir music.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Doppelganger To the Stars! at September 30, 2017 08:38 PM (Nwg0u)
Battlefield 1 has a great score

244
The Coen Bros do everything well, and musically they are spot-on. Did I mention those guys are geniuses? Go back and watch "Blood Simple," their first commercial movie. It's a killer. I have never not enjoyed one of their films.

248
2 things:
kubrick also used classical music well in "barry lyndon".
alan sylvestri is underrated, imho. his score for "predator is brilliant and really carries much of a movie not dependent on dialogue. & everyone knows his "back to the future", very enjoyable.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 30, 2017 03:40 PM (AxFdW)

249I'll say this up front: I'm not a music guy. I don't really listen to it. I've done nine hour drives through a few states without ever turning on the radio.
Question - do you have any musicals that you really enjoyed? Like any Rogers/Astaire movies? They're not among my favorites, but I liked them a lot, and I too am someone who has never really listened to music all that often.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 30, 2017 03:41 PM (/qEW2)

250
232 re: August Rush
Sadly, no. What's the premise?
Posted by: squeakywheel at September 30, 2017 08:36 PM (GUhcs)
Music savant kid in foster care who never played an instrument runs away to find his parents. Ends up in NYC where Robin Williams shady character takes him under his wing with his other street music urchins.

253
239 A lot of money for composers in the video game industry.
-
I love the L.A. Noir music.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Doppelganger To the Stars! at September 30, 2017 08:38 PM (Nwg0u)
Battlefield 1 has a great score
Posted by: Quilter's Irish Death at September 30, 2017 08:39 PM (j9SGE)
Elder Scrolls 3 is my favorite.

Who ended up going to prison for scalping Super Bowl tickets he got through his wife.

Posted by: mark1971 at September 30, 2017 03:41 PM (xPl2J)

255
248
alan sylvestri is underrated, imho. his score for "predator is brilliant and really carries much of a movie not dependent on dialogue. & everyone knows his "back to the future", very enjoyable.
Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 30, 2017 08:40 PM (AxFdW)
======
His score for Van Helsing is really fun, too.

256
Many good film scores I enjoyed have already been mentioned. One composer mentioned, with no films listed, was Ralph Vaughan Williams.
I liked his Coastal Command score.

Posted by: NaCly Dog[/i] at September 30, 2017 03:42 PM (hyuyC)

257
Battleship has the best use of AC/DC in a movie score.
Thuderstruck with the Big Mo.

Posted by: blaster at September 30, 2017 03:42 PM (jHrzU)

258I think the Coen brothers use music effectively. I could be biased, because I love Iris Dement's voice, but "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" is a great finale for True Grit.
Agree on both counts, Coen bros are geniuses with music.
A lot of money for composers in the video game industry.
Right, I include that in the umbrella of soundtracks

259
Has anyone watched "Easy Rider" lately? I haven't seen it in about 20 years. I have to believe the hippie politics would be a mite off-putting to me now, though I'm sure the soundtrack still rocks.
Posted by: Octopus at September 30, 2017 08:27 PM
Yes. It's well worth a revisit. Great use of music. Believe it or not, there isn't as much social commentary/politics in it as you'd think. It comes up from time to time, but it doesn't beat you over the head with it. That's mostly coz not much really happens in the film. They to places, talk a bit, do some drugs, then go somewhere else and talk some more. It's a weird film of moments on the road. It's an important film though, and really quite good.

Posted by: otho at September 30, 2017 03:42 PM (qGuLD)

260
I've been watching a lot of Asian movies
-
I quite like the scores to Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, both by Tan Dun.

261
Since I was born in the state, I am required to say I like Oklahoma. It did give us a nice state song.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at September 30, 2017 03:43 PM (Lqy/e)

262
Brother Where Art Thou? does a remarkable job of marrying existing songs to the narrative.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at September 30, 2017 03:43 PM (oVJmc)

263
"One of my movie pet peeves is when the style of the music doesn't match the setting.If a movie is set in 1725, I expect baroque music, not jazz."
This. Hated "The Piano" (not "The Pianist"), with Holly Hunter and Harvey Keitel. Set in 1850s New Zealand, and the score is New Age gobbledygook.
Husband plays in a big orchestra, has played with John Williams many times, and says he's a peach. Loved his score for "Angela's Ashes". I'm a pianist (classical nerd), and this was the first sheet music I bought since "70 Top Hits of the '70s" when I was in high school!

Posted by: stinkylegs at September 30, 2017 03:43 PM (YW4J1)

264
249 I'll say this up front: I'm not a music guy. I don't really listen to it. I've done nine hour drives through a few states without ever turning on the radio.
Question - do you have any musicals that you really enjoyed? Like any Rogers/Astaire movies? They're not among my favorites, but I liked them a lot, and I too am someone who has never really listened to music all that often.
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 30, 2017 08:41 PM (/qEW2)
======
I treat musicals the same way I treat any other type of movie. I have no problem with them.
That being said, it's not a genre I search or, so I've seen the big stuff but never gone much further. My favorite would probably be Singin in the Rain, though.

269
229 Wouldn't it be great if music played in the background of your own life. Then when you are in one of those awkard situations, the music would tell you if it joke time, or time to be serious, or Watch Out...someone is gonna rip into you like a monkey on a cupcake.
Posted by: Gumdrop Gorilla aka procrastinator extraordinaire at September 30, 2017 08:36 PM (xE5n0)
My life soundtrack would have a lot of My Chemical Romance and Nine Inch Nails.

Posted by: Insomniac at September 30, 2017 03:45 PM (NWiLs)

270
266 PHL orchestra just hosted a showing of Amadeus with the musical parts of the movie played live.
Posted by: kallisto at September 30, 2017 08:44 PM (eO2Z0)
=======
Amadeus is one of my all time favorite movies, so that sounds absolutely amazing.

271
261 Since I was born in the state, I am required to say I like Oklahoma. It did give us a nice state song.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at September 30, 2017 08:43 PM (Lqy/e)
--IMO "On Wisconsin" is one of the best fight songs in college ball. (I say that having been to FSU, who has plenty of damn good music in its own right.)

Posted by: logprof at September 30, 2017 03:46 PM (GsAUU)

272
Top Gun.
Really one word, all Caps = TOPGUN. But had some great music.
Nothing like seeing a C-5A landing at NAS Norfolk while [i[Mighty Wings[/i] is playing at full blast as you go under the runway.

Posted by: NaCly Dog[/i] at September 30, 2017 03:46 PM (hyuyC)

273
Although not movies, we enjoy some of the modern TV show original intro music -- especially "Vikings" and "Black Sails" (where composer Bear McCreary uses a cool-sounding instrument called the hurdy gurdy.)

274
I'm always aware of the music in films and can hear a few bars and visualize the scene. Some soundtracks are more effective for me than others. The Red Violin with its brilliant themes played beautifully by Joshua Bell. The evocative arrangements of the songs in Moulin Rouge, especially 'Roxanne'. Even the 1970s/80s southern rock in Sahara, based on the Cussler book, which establishes a mood that goes with the characters. Anything Henry Mancini wrote seems to add to the film whether it's the Peter Gunn theme or the Baby Elephant Walk in Hatari.
Something that stays with me is the use of unusual tones as part of the music. There's the hardinger fiddle in the theme music for Rohan or the massed horns leading into the charge of the Rohirrim at Minas Tirith. The use of some Celtic instruments falls into this category.

277
231: when did stravinsky's influence appear? don't know, i'm really not that knowledgeable. but a lot of those russian and german composers who came to hollywood (e.g. steiner et al?) in the 20's and 30's grew up with stravinsky, who was modern but not too "modernist", (i.e. atonal, etc.)

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 30, 2017 03:46 PM (AxFdW)

278
269
My life soundtrack would have a lot of My Chemical Romance and Nine Inch Nails.
Posted by: Insomniac at September 30, 2017 08:45 PM (NWiLs)
=======
I forgot to include it, but I wanted to mention that I got the soundtrack to Hanna by My Chemical Romance and was shocked at how unlistenable it was out of context.

Watched that with kidlet a few years ago. It was a good flick. IIRC, so was the music.

Posted by: Infidel at September 30, 2017 03:50 PM (w25zc)

291
259 Has anyone watched "Easy Rider" lately? I haven't seen it in about 20 years. I have to believe the hippie politics would be a mite off-putting to me now, though I'm sure the soundtrack still rocks.
Posted by: Octopus at September 30, 2017 08:27 PM
Yes. It's well worth a revisit. Great use of music. Believe it or not, there isn't as much social commentary/politics in it as you'd think. It comes up from time to time, but it doesn't beat you over the head with it. That's mostly coz not much really happens in the film. They to places, talk a bit, do some drugs, then go somewhere else and talk some more. It's a weird film of moments on the road. It's an important film though, and really quite good.
-----------------
Thanks, Otho. I think I'll check it out again. I loved it as a teen.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at September 30, 2017 03:50 PM (3DZIZ)

293
273 Although not movies, we enjoy some of the modern TV show original intro music -- especially "Vikings" and "Black Sails" (where composer Bear McCreary uses a cool-sounding instrument called the hurdy gurdy.)
Posted by: ShainS at September 30, 2017 08:46 PM (BiLU+)
--I don't think the intro music for Vikings is original. It is still very apropos, though.

295
289 Bear McCready does the music for STARZ's Outlander, too.
Good theme song.
Posted by: squeakywheel at September 30, 2017 08:50 PM (GUhcs)
======
He didn't write that song. The main character in Walkabout from the 70s sings it.

297
One more horror movie I've seen lately: "The Devil's Candy"
It's got a great heavy metal soundtrack, and it's a better movie than it has any right to be. If you can't handle your metal, please avoid.

299
288 In case it hasn't been mentioned;
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 by David Shire
https://tinyurl.com/nvthcqv
Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at September 30, 2017 08:49 PM (3DZIZ)
YES.
Just saw the movie on the big screen a couple weeks back and it absolutely makes a great movie outstanding.

301
Emmanuelle In Space Balls
Posted by: mnw at September 30, 2017 08:51 PM (PTHEn)
Reminds me of Mel Brooks (who wrote a lot of the music in his movies) said "I'm Tired" in Blazing Saddles was the nastiest thing he ever wrote.

305
Thanks for the correction. Yes, Bear McCreary does the music for the show, but the theme is not his.
Still a good theme song, TJM.

Posted by: squeakywheel at September 30, 2017 03:55 PM (GUhcs)

306
Let's not forget Maurce Jarre:
Lawrence of Arabia
Dr. Zhivago
The Man Who Would Be King
A Passage to India
Fatal Attraction
Dead Poet's Society
and many dozens of others

Posted by: stinkylegs at September 30, 2017 03:55 PM (YW4J1)

307
Some music becomes iconic on its own. E.g. Jaws, Star Wars, Star Trek. Star Wars & Star Trek are both used as a bridge to continue the journey from the last film to next one, as well as all the other reasons. When Star Trek has departed from that known theme music, it has not gone well.
I've seen the Jaws theme used in various ways to heighten the fear of what's coming. It has more impact than other scores that could be used, b/c people already associate with the movie Jaws & the bloody outcomes.
Just kinda thinking how music is leveraged...and in generalities.

310
As I've mentioned before, I'm a huge fan of movies, and it always puzzled me why I don't contribute to this weekly posting. I mean, I'm full of facts and opinions and things.
Then it struck me--I'm usually roaring drunk when the post appears! Just like now, for example. Another mystery solved.
"So it seems you've discovered your unpleasant nature."

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at September 30, 2017 03:56 PM (l9m7l)

311
Hai!!! The opening song for "Moonlight Rambler" did set the tone. And you get to see all four of the Knight Sabers going about their life. And how their lives were going to be upset by the shooting star seen above Mega-Tokyo.

Asheville-san! Nuku Nuku Natsume ichiban!!!!

The most 'off' and/or 'odd' song from the original Nuku Nuku OVAs. https://youtu.be/MdTKUlu9d8g

315
'the stravinsky influence idea came to me listening to stravinsky. can't real back it up. but i think there's some truth to it'
He influenced almost every composer so the is some truth to it. I was just wondering if there is some movie where it first became apparent.

317
OT: I guess those millenials in Puerto Rico are ahead of the curve:
Anthony Levandowski, who is at the center of a legal battle between Uber and Google's Waymo, has established a nonprofit religious corporation called Way of the Future, according to state filings first uncovered by Wired's Backchannel. Way of the Future's startling mission: "To develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on artificial intelligence and through understanding and worship of the Godhead contribute to the betterment of society."

321
Take the Williams score out of Star Wars and they are completely different movies. Some of my favorites (the composers were mentioned above):
Adventures of Robin Hood
Ghost and Mrs Muir
To Kill a Mockingbird

323Has anyone mentioned the great musicals? Or do they not count since soundtrack is more instrumental in nature?
Posted by: J.J. Sefton
See @264, we briefly touched on it.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 30, 2017 03:59 PM (/qEW2)

324
304
Has anyone mentioned the great musicals? Or do they not count since soundtrack is more instrumental in nature?
Posted by: J.J. Sefton at September 30, 2017 08:54 PM (mbhDw)
too many things cross the lines...
Like... The Graduate, Mrs. Robinson...

Posted by: Don Q. at September 30, 2017 04:00 PM (NgKpN)

325That's the remake of 'The Flight of the Phoenix'. I couldn't finish it. The version with James Sewart was excellent.
Posted by: The Inexplicable Dr. Julius Strangepork at September 30, 2017 08:57 PM (IG7jB)
I liked both versions of the film, though I really thought the remake was much better.

328Has anyone mentioned the great musicals? Or do they not count since soundtrack is more instrumental in nature?
Posted by: J.J. Sefton at September 30, 2017 08:54 PM (mbhDw)
There are only something like 3 or 4 great musicals, even though hundreds and hundreds have been made.
If someone is looking for the worst movie on Earth then the chances are they are looking for a musical.

329
I count Fast Times as the beginning of the end of Western Civilization.
It came out when I was in highschool (about 12ish years ago I guess) and I never saw it then, but everyone else in my HS did. I heard some of the stories and knew most of the famous quotes. Then I saw it not all that long ago on IFC which was uncut. First, I was surprised it opened with a Devo song! I always thought of it as a movie of the 70s, it really was a movie of the 80s.
Then I saw how bleak and empty it was.
And that was so famous and highly acclaimed - and supposedly written from observation of a HS class in California.

333
What do the Sound of Music and Lost in Space have in common?
Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 09:01 PM (LuKE7)
They hit the screen for the first time in 1965?

Posted by: TheQuietMan at September 30, 2017 04:03 PM (auHtY)

334
If someone is looking for the worst movie on Earth then the chances are they are looking for a musical.
Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 30, 2017 09:02 PM (8gDQu)
Only if you count 'Attack of the Killer Tomatoes' as a Musical...

336
When I think of musicals, I think of the 50s and maybe early 60s. My Fair Lady, Sound of Music, How to Marry a Millionaire, White Christmas, Singing in the Rain. I think it requires a certain innocence in the culture.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at September 30, 2017 04:04 PM (Lqy/e)

337
I just finished explaining to my wife and son why I think the voice from the helicoptef in Dirty Harry is Leslie Nielsen.

Posted by: bergerbilder at September 30, 2017 04:04 PM (lIZQs)

338
The Bond movies always used the flavor of the month singer/band for their theme songs.

Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 04:04 PM (LuKE7)

339
As much as I love movie musicals, I wasn't including them since they are about the songs more than the action. I will say the more I can sing along with them, the more I like them. Brigadoon, Kiss Me Kate, and Guys and Dolls qualify with many others.

Posted by: JTB at September 30, 2017 04:05 PM (V+03K)

340
Randy Newman has written many sound tracks. From "The Natural" to "James and the Giant Peach" which is a fav of mine.

341
Chicago was a pretty good musical. It wasn't a "pure" musical; that is, much of the dialogue was spoken. But, every so often, someone would break out in song. And, unlike many musicals, the music was pretty good.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at September 30, 2017 04:06 PM (pvjTE)

342
Just saw Monty Hall has learned what's behind the Last Door. I don't know reallywhy, but reading about his death made me feel a bit sad. He was an icon of Lets Make A Deal, and I never cared too much for that at all, but yet, it's like another part of my childhood has gone.
Or some psychology like that.

344
Godfather theme really embedded the idea of the foreign.ness of the families.

Posted by: kallisto at September 30, 2017 04:06 PM (eO2Z0)

345
I left out The King and I and South Pacific. I think of Rodgers and Hammerstein when I think of musicals.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at September 30, 2017 04:07 PM (Lqy/e)

346
Sourced, out of context: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.
Really good, with a lot of Brian Eno.
And one Harry Nillson.

Posted by: Les Kinetic at September 30, 2017 04:07 PM (q5BCk)

347--There's also Patton.
I'd flip a coin.
Posted by: logprof at September 30, 2017 09:06 PM (GsAUU)
I can't even remember a score from Patton. It certainly ranks in the top ten of all time movies, for me. I'll have to pay attention to the score, next time.

348
Boogie Nights drug deal scene with Jessie's Girl and Sister Christian.
Great one.
Posted by: mark1971 at September 30, 2017 08:55 PM
Amazingly effective use of sourced music, in context, in place. The perfect use of it. It's a one of the best scenes captured on film, IMHO. But then, I rate Boogie Nights very, very highly. It's a genuine masterpiece. It's derivative and Anderson rips off other films with it (scenes, techniques etc)... but damn... it's close to perfect.

351
The King and I and South Pacific. I think of Rodgers and Hammerstein when I think of musicals.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at September 30, 2017 09:07 PM (Lqy/e)
********************************
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Oklahoma, and West Side Story.

Posted by: gNewt at September 30, 2017 04:08 PM (eNqiW)

352
I nominate the sound track of the following: Galadiator, Brave Heart, and curiously Children of a Lesser God.

Posted by: colfax mingo at September 30, 2017 04:08 PM (5irMi)

353
The theme from Chariots of Fire is the only thing I remember about the movie. It had something to do with people in England running.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 30, 2017 04:08 PM (/qEW2)

354
Oh, the best Trek score ever is the TOS episode The Planet Killer.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at September 30, 2017 04:09 PM (3DZIZ)

356
Oregon Muse the thought of you driving around listening to silence is strange and sad and painful. And yet... Most of my commute is spent changing the channel in anger. There are so many bad songs and they make me so angry. Maybe you are on to something.

361
What do the Sound of Music and Lost in Space have in common?
Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 09:01 PM
Angela Cartwright.

Posted by: otho at September 30, 2017 04:11 PM (qGuLD)

362
Max Steiner, Hitler always picking on him\
Dmitri Tiomkin: The High and the Mighty

Posted by: gNewt at September 30, 2017 04:11 PM (eNqiW)

363Really good, with a lot of Brian Eno.
And one Harry Nillson.
Posted by: Les Kinetic at September 30, 2017 09:07 PM (q5BCk)
Movies with great Eno music (which is the best kind of music):
Velvet Goldmine
The Lovely Bones
and, of course,
For All Mankind (scored by Eno, himself, for NASA - released as the album, Apollo)
Anytime I hear an Eno track in a movie it's a real treat and automatically kicks the movie two steps up.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at September 30, 2017 04:11 PM (3DZIZ)

367
Nino Rota in 8 1/2 was interesting. He has this theme, which at times borders on being a rip off of Khachaturian's Sabre Dance. Sometimes it occurs out of context, but at the very end it is played in context.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 30, 2017 04:11 PM (/qEW2)

368
Posted by: otho at September 30, 2017 09:08 PM (qGuLD)
It was perfect as soon as they cast Heather Graham.

Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 04:12 PM (LuKE7)

369
Chariots of Fire. My mother and her friends really got into that, and the music. Also "Evita". She saw that some time around there when she went to visit her big sister out in Alameda, CA. They saw it at some theater in SF.
Anyway, she played "Evita" and "Chariots of Fire" music so much I got sick of it, nearly.
That was all somewhere around 1980, give or take, and was around 13 - 15 or so.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at September 30, 2017 04:14 PM (3DZIZ)

375
Silent movies were never really "silent"; they always were accompanied by continuous music. A few had specially composed musical scores (Metropolis) but most depended on the local musicians - small ensembles, organs or even just a piano - who would accompany the film with stock musical themes.
Now that they're being restored and issued on dvd, musicians are composing scores to go with them. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. It's an improvement over the dark ages when silent movies just had some random classical recording slapped onto them, with no attempt to match the music to the action. But the funny thing is, if you watch a silent movie with a random soundtrack, your brain will start making linkages to the music, so it feels as if what you're hearing is really connected to what you're seeing. You can't help it; it's just a natural impulse to somehow join everything together so it's coherent.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at September 30, 2017 04:14 PM (jO4+W)

376
We have gone from Evita asking "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" to Hillary! "Why Don't You Vote for Me!"

377
357 Oregon Muse the thought of you driving around listening to silence is strange and sad and painful. And yet... Most of my commute is spent changing the channel in anger. There are so many bad songs and they make me so angry. Maybe you are on to something.
Posted by: Max Power at September 30, 2017 09:09 PM (QCc6B)
++++
TheJamesMadison writes the weekly music thread. But, he isn't a cob, so he can't post it. OregonMuse takes care of that. So, you see TheJamesMadison in the title, but OregonMuse in the Posted by line.
Long of saying that the seemingly sad figure driving for 9 hours in silence is TheJamesMadison. I hope there's something more lively going on inside his head.

380
Randy Newman has written many sound tracks. From "The Natural" to "James and the Giant Peach" which is a fav of mine.
Posted by: Duke of Righteous WTF? at September 30, 2017 09:05 PM (T71PA)
"Short People"......hilarious.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 30, 2017 04:16 PM (nUkMr)

381
378 Long of saying that the seemingly sad figure driving for 9 hours in silence is TheJamesMadison. I hope there's something more lively going on inside his head.
Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at September 30, 2017 09:15 PM (FUu/Z)
======
Last time I did it a few weeks ago, I outlined 4 movie posts, along with several other things.

384
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly has that super-loud haunting music...it's memorable and it works in a Pasta-Western kinda way.

Posted by: scrood at September 30, 2017 04:17 PM (cQdY5)

385
Strictly Ballroom was Luhrmann's first movie. I got a kick out of it.

Posted by: no good deed at September 30, 2017 04:18 PM (eIQHF)

386
Silent movies were never really "silent"; they always were accompanied by continuous music. A few had specially composed musical scores (Metropolis) but most depended on the local musicians - small ensembles, organs or even just a piano - who would accompany the film with stock musical themes.
Beverly Hillbillies - Pearl back when Jed & clan went back to the hills. Pearl played piano during the silent movies at the movie house.

387
Hey TJM
Right, I liked King Arthur: Legend of the Sword soundtrack; suited the movie

Posted by: runner at September 30, 2017 04:18 PM (9qbOD)

388
Anna Puma (HQCaR)
Yes, the French Horns symbolizing hunting horns in the Wrath of Khan are great.
A case of real life sound effects is Frost and his battalion at Arnhem, forming up to the sound of horns.
And the theme to Patton playing as we pulled away at flank speed from an UNREP. That always brings me back.

Posted by: NaCly Dog[/i] at September 30, 2017 04:19 PM (hyuyC)

389
380 OK, sports fans, what is unusual about the performance of this movie theme?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dn8oGbNyUfM
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Doppelganger To the Stars! at September 30, 2017 09:16 PM (Nwg0u)
++++
Per the first youtube comment "john williams plays john williams".

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at September 30, 2017 04:20 PM (FUu/Z)

390
>>>>I can recite (and sing, but you wouldn't want to hear it -- no sirree) the theme from Gilligan's Island from rote.
<<<<

Used to play it live. I had a long minute and a half wind up spiel about the Great Song of the Sea, sung by generations of sailors around the world. And then I would kick into Gilligan.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at September 30, 2017 04:20 PM (3DZIZ)

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at September 30, 2017 04:22 PM (3DZIZ)

397
Worst use of a score that I can think of atm, is Battle Of Britain. Truly horrendous for being over the top, unneeded. It's the same few bits repeated over and over, again and again and again. "Heroic theme", "Teutonic march"... argh... please make it stop. Let the action speak for itself.

Posted by: otho at September 30, 2017 04:22 PM (qGuLD)

398
Carter Burwell has done music for Coen brothers. Better than Williams.

400
An excellent movie with a great score that makes many of the scenes as haunting as possible is:
Fearless
A lot of the crash scenes use a score that is dissonant to the action, making that much more of an impression.

405
the guy that moves pianos for a living
Leroy Anderson's "The Rakes of Mallow" is slow mood music compared with the lively "The Irish Washerwoman" and "Bugler's Holiday."

Posted by: NaCly Dog[/i] at September 30, 2017 04:25 PM (hyuyC)

406
An excellent movie with a great score that makes many of the scenes as haunting as possible is:
Fearless
A lot of the crash scenes use a score that is dissonant to the action, making that much more of an impression.
Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 30, 2017 09:23 PM
Agreed. Great movie to boot.

Posted by: otho at September 30, 2017 04:25 PM (qGuLD)

407
And the theme to Patton playing as we pulled away at flank speed from an UNREP. That always brings me back.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at September 30, 2017 09:19 PM (hyuyC)
--Goldsmith used a lot of French horns in the Patton score to be evocative of classical age battles.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at September 30, 2017 04:27 PM (3DZIZ)

415
Before movies, what's called incidental music was used for plays to lend atmosphere. In short, it served the same function as soundtracks do to films.
Examples:
Felix Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Franz Schubert: Rosamunde
Ludwig van Beethoven: Egmont
Edvard Grieg: Peer Gynt
Georges Bizet: L'Arlesienne

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at September 30, 2017 04:28 PM (3DZIZ)

418
TJM... glad you liked "Alive". It's a good movie. They toned the actual story down for the movie and bewilderingly, gave little time to the Andes crossing (compared to what really happened)... but still a pretty faithful telling.

422
J.J. Sefton
My Dad and I listened to Ferde Grofe and Aaron Copland a lot. The Grand Canyon Suite and Rodeo respectively always struck me as longer pieces of music. They were both great, just not as concentrated as Leroy Anderson. All IMHO. Musical tastes are quite individual. I do know we have similar tastes in music.

Posted by: NaCly Dog[/i] at September 30, 2017 04:29 PM (hyuyC)

423He does a pretty good job of it too.
Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at September 30, 2017 09:26 PM (FUu/Z)
Clint is supposed to be an excellent jazz pianist.
Dudley Moore was a concert pianist. For the thread, have to add the use of Ravel's Bolero in Ten.

424
Per the first youtube comment "john williams plays john williams".
-
Damn Youtube commenters! Yeah, music composed by John Williams and played by John Willians but they're two diffefent people.
(JW is one of my two favorite guitarists, the other being Christophef Parkening.)

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at September 30, 2017 04:29 PM (3DZIZ)

426
Oliver Harper's Q and A is relevant to the thread.
https://youtu.be/61SW8QmvsqU

Posted by: BourbonChicken at September 30, 2017 04:29 PM (rnAwa)

427
Do people still buy soundtrack albums? My parents always had Broadway or movie musical albums on the hi-fi. We had family favorites like Darling Lily, Silverado, and James Bond themes. Of course, this was before there was easy access to the actual movies.

435
One of the most well rounded but overlooked characters is in Wrath of Khan. Joachim. He knows Khan is unstable because of his obsession to redress the wrong Kirk did him. But he also swore to serve. So he is always trying to steer Khan away from outright destruction. "We have escaped permanent exile..." He is working on Khan's ego to get the man to do the right thing for all the wrong reasons.

Frost? Arnhem? Not getting the reference.

Full bells after underway replenishment set to that music? That might be better than Ride of the Valkyries.

437
Hall of the Mountain King gets all the love but I like Anitra's Dance better.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at September 30, 2017 04:34 PM (3DZIZ)

438
One of the most well rounded but overlooked characters is in Wrath of Khan. Joachim. He knows Khan is unstable because of his obsession to redress the wrong Kirk did him...
Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 30, 2017 09:32 PM (TJu/K)
He's Starbuck to Kahn's Ahab.

439This is my biggest movie pet peeve. The music/FX track is recorded at like three times the volume of the dialogue, and you alternate between being not being able to hear a thing or being pinned to the wall from the eighty bajillion decibels blasting through the speakers.

Posted by: Insomniac at September 30, 2017 08:08 PM

Amen to this. Also, movies are too effing loud in general. When we go to the theatre, which is once in a blue moon, Mrs. Muse brings her ear plugs just to get the sound down to a manageable level.

442
Clint is supposed to be an excellent jazz pianist.
Dudley Moore was a concert pianist. For the thread, have to add the use of Ravel's Bolero in Ten.
Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 30, 2017 09:29 PM (8gDQu)
++++
You wouldn't think jazz pianist watching Honkytonk Man. Country music all the way. Plus, I don't think he touches a piano in that one, just guitar. But, I don't doubt you on his other talents.
Bolero was used well in 10. As was Bo Derek.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at September 30, 2017 04:34 PM (pvjTE)

443
I don't understand when people say, "Wouldn't it be great if you had a musical soundtrack playing to your life, as you lived it?" Because I do. I really do. It's not always great, but it's there. As is the constant feeling of being observed doing my life, by Critical Me. It's the main reason why I struck out so much in Little League baseball, but did great in hockey, where you could lose yourself in the action.

Posted by: Octopus at September 30, 2017 04:34 PM (TjN6o)

444
"battle of britain make it stop!"
by ron goodwin. but he also wrote one of my favorites, "where eagles dare" - just one long crescendo. very much to the point.
goodwin made a career as a conductor around the world, and many times played his eagles dare theme. it was popular in englandconcert halls for a while. but "where eagles dare" was also a christmas day staple on british tv for a while i believe.

450
Anna Puma (HQCaR)
Yes, when we were clear of the Unrep ship's bow we would use full rudder at flank speed. You had to hang on to the steel cable overhead to not fall to the bridge wing, and the ocean beyond. The other bridge wing door framed sky above the bridge wing railing.

453
There should be a law prohibiting "Sweet Home Alabama" from ever being used in a movie score ever again.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 30, 2017 04:39 PM (/qEW2)

454Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at September 30, 2017 09:34 PM (pvjTE)
I think you got to hear Clint play a little bit of jazz piano in In The Line of Fire. He played a tiny bit in the bar scene ... I think ... but I don't really remember it that well. Fun movie.

458
The Third Man is a western set in post war Vienna, the soundtrack would fit in any western as a guitar piece. My other favorites are : the work of Georges Auric in Orphee and La Belle et Bette, The combination of jazz and Japanese percussion by Masuro Sato in Yojimbo, Bernard Hermann's work in Vertigo, and Phillip Glass Mishima. Of course nothing beats riding 2 wheels into the sunset with Morricone's A Few Dollars More.

Posted by: wilbeforce at September 30, 2017 04:41 PM (Floa5)

459
Christopher Nolan said that he carried the coffin at his dad's funeral, and Elgar's Enigma Variations, Nimrod was playing. This is why it is in Dunkirk, and it is a beautiful and appropriate piece.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at September 30, 2017 04:41 PM (rnAwa)

460
I love music, not as much as movies and books, but it's up there.
I can't really add too much to what TJM wrote, but I recall a youtube video talking about the sharp decline in soundtracks. The example he used was the marvel movies' music (might be searchable from that angle if folks are curious about hunting it up).
I don't know if I agree with him that Marvel movies have BAD scores, but he's probably right that we are seeing fewer original soundtracks created. Mostly because they aren't seen as necessary. Incidental music to heighten a scene is viewed as more important that writing a score you'll be humming days or years later.
Another cause he cites is the use of temp tracks. Basically the same few actual soundtracks are used by everyone as temp music as the film is being made. So increasingly the composer is told to write something similar to what someone else has already used, because the executives or director has gotten used to the music in the temp track.

461
I hate overly loud action movie music and sound effects. Not alone in that, I'm sure. Hubby loves it. The louder the better. When we built our retirement house, that mother-in-law is living in until we are actually retired, we put in a sound proof room for him to watch all that shit.
One of the things I appreciated about American Assassin was the lower volume. But I'm old and stodgy.

Posted by: kalneva at September 30, 2017 04:42 PM (vhW1R)

462
by ron goodwin. but he also wrote one of my favorites, "where eagles dare" - just one long crescendo. very much to the point.
goodwin made a career as a conductor around the world, and many times played his eagles dare theme. it was popular in englandconcert halls for a while. but "where eagles dare" was also a christmas day staple on british tv for a while i believe.
Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 30, 2017 09:36 PM
I'm sure he's good and the bits (few that they are) aren't bad... it's just the constant repetition in BOB. I'm constaly hit over the head with it and it adds nothing... if it was employed sparingly it would work. I'm reduced to saying "I get it... they're the Luftwaffe. I get it it... those guys are the RAF... you don't have to repeat the bold themes EVERY time they're on screen, FFS!".

464
Lt. Col. John Frost led the 2nd Battalion, Para Regiment to Arnhem Bridge for an epic, yet futile, stand. His was the only group of the UK 1st Para Division to reach the bridge. Rallying his men with a hunting horn after the initial jump was a factor in his success.

466
101 The music in Guardians of the Galaxy movies is key to the movies .
Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 08:05 PM (LuKE7)
Yep, it has a context and meaning outside of the movie itself.
James Gunn and Tarantino have a gift for using pop music in movies.
The Suicide Squad movie is an example of using pop music poorly.

467
I do believe that would Lt.Col John Frost.
C.O. 2nd Bn. 1st Brigade. 1st British Parachute Division. IIRC His Battalion was the one that was tasked with capturing the Arnhem Bridge.

Posted by: Tim in Illinois at September 30, 2017 04:43 PM (sf2BM)

468
I think you got to hear Clint play a little bit of jazz piano in In The Line of Fire. He played a tiny bit in the bar scene ... I think ... but I don't really remember it that well. Fun movie.
Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 30, 2017 09:40 PM (8gDQu)
++++
You're right. I remember that scene. I don't recall the specific music, just that he didn't embarrass himself or anything. And he impressed Renee Russo.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at September 30, 2017 04:43 PM (pvjTE)

469
Hey everybody. Dang, late to the movie thread again, ONT will be here in a flash.
I'm hearing good things about BR2049. If Ridley Scott and Denis Villanueve can pull off the impossible and make a worthy sequel, good on them. I just was figuring the odds against them were about a billion to one.

Posted by: qdpsteve at September 30, 2017 04:43 PM (eMKNe)

470
"it's just the constant repletion... hit over the head"
lol
he does pretty much the same thing in "where eagles dare". it works there, tho.

Posted by: musical jolly chimp at September 30, 2017 04:44 PM (AxFdW)

471
Thanks Salty Dawg, it has been forever since I have read A Bridge Too Far.

472
Jack Sock and others:
I am hoping that soundtracks like the one to Guardians Of The Galaxy, will turn on today's millenials to the classic rock and pop of the 1960s through 1980s.
It's probably an impossibly tall order however.

Posted by: qdpsteve at September 30, 2017 04:45 PM (eMKNe)

473
My nominee for worst abuse of music for a movie has to be "Ray". Some of the best music around ... and they managed to make a completely boring, stupid, insufferable movie out of it.
On the other hand, Wiseguys had one of the best uses of sourced music around. Everything fit perfectly in that.

476
IMHO, the all-time best use of music in a movie:
American Graffiti.
Legend has it, everything played was already represented in George Lucas' singles collection when he was a teenager.
He also used the song "Still I'm Sad" by Yardbirds, as the opener to his original student film "Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 EB." The film itself however is... not good.

Posted by: qdpsteve at September 30, 2017 04:47 PM (eMKNe)

477
Hans Zimmer rather reminds ne of the Das Boot theme. They even made a disco version out of it.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=it49wmcKUt4

ANITAPuerto Rico . . .
You ugly island . . .
Island of tropic diseases.
Always the hurricanes blowing,
Always the population growing . . .
And the money owing,
And the babies crying,
And the bullets flying.
I like the island Manhattan.
Smoke on your pipe and put that in!

OTHERSI like to be in America!
O.K. by me in America!
Ev'rything free in America
For a small fee in America!

485
I want to call out two of my favorite soundtracks:
The Usual Suspects by John Ottman was really good.
Tubular Bells from The Exorcist was my go-to horror track for a long time.
I also really like the Lord of the Rings soundtracks, very impressive work there, both the orchestral and the original music. 'Into the West' made me cry a little.

489Before movies, what's called incidental music was used for plays to lend atmosphere. In short, it served the same function as soundtracks do to films.
...
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 30, 2017 09:27 PM (TvLXq)
I think that was in place in Baroque opera/oratorio as well. The "incidental" music was the recitatives, and the arias were the memorable tunes.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at September 30, 2017 04:51 PM (3DZIZ)

491
The camp (though I'm not sure it was meant as camp) 1982 horror/vampire flick "The Hunger," which starred Catherine Denueve and David Bowie, used Bauhaus' "Beli Lugosi's Dead" to FANTASTIC effect in the opening credits sequence.

Posted by: qdpsteve at September 30, 2017 04:52 PM (eMKNe)

492
Posted by: qdpsteve at September 30, 2017 09:47 PM (eMKNe)
Hollywood Knights with same theme was good also.

494
The Third Man is a western set in post war Vienna,
-
Great scene. The cultured but impoverished Viennese invite Joseph Cotton to speak about the books he has written then find out he writes pulp westerns.

496
I'm hearing good things about BR2049. If Ridley Scott and Denis Villanueve can pull off the impossible and make a worthy sequel, good on them. I just was figuring the odds against them were about a billion to one.
Posted by: qdpsteve at September 30, 2017 09:43 PM
I'm not holding my breath. But I do want to see it.

Posted by: otho at September 30, 2017 04:53 PM (qGuLD)

497
Tubular Bells wasn't written for the movie, though. It was just creepy on its own.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at September 30, 2017 04:53 PM (3DZIZ)

508
"The camp (though I'm not sure it was meant as camp) 1982 horror/vampire flick "The Hunger," which starred Catherine Denueve and David Bowie, used Bauhaus' "Beli Lugosi's Dead" to FANTASTIC effect in the opening credits sequence."
Yes--also used Ravel's "Gaspard de la Nuit" slow movement. Chilling. Based on a poem about a body swaying on a gallows.

Posted by: stinkylegs at September 30, 2017 04:56 PM (YW4J1)

509
guy that moves the pianos, yup.
I think Cooder's made far more money as a scorer of films, than as a rock guitarist selling albums.

Posted by: qdpsteve at September 30, 2017 04:56 PM (eMKNe)

510
I think that was in place in Baroque opera/oratorio as well. The "incidental" music was the recitatives, and the arias were the memorable tunes.
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 30, 2017 09:51 PM (/qEW2)
Not quite. In opera and oratorio the music drives the story. Incidental music stands more in the background of the action on the stage.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 30, 2017 04:57 PM (TvLXq)

511
502 There were two movies called: "Flight of the Phoenix." Is this referring to the original movie, or the remake version? The original movie was excellent.
Posted by: Margo of Virginia at September 30, 2017 09:55 PM (eM3Oh)
Yes it was and I always have to say it when the movie is mentioned. They were on their way to Benghazi when they crashed.

Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 04:57 PM (LuKE7)

512Ry Cooder did the music for Long Riders.
Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living at September 30, 2017 09:55 PM (3DZIZ)
Ry Cooder did some awesome guitar work for a little-known Ralph Macchio movie called "Crossroads". It was a pretty silly movie, but fun to watch, nonetheless. The guitar parts were stupendous! I think Stevie Vai was the other guitarist doing the music (and appearing in the film, too).

520
Wish there was more time on the movie thread, but why is there a theory out there that Deckard is a replicant... I know the movie pretty well, what started that?

Posted by: runner at September 30, 2017 04:59 PM (9qbOD)

521
Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at September 30, 2017 09:57 PM (8gDQ
Wasn't Crossroads the movie version of Devil Went Down to Georgia?

Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 04:59 PM (LuKE7)

522
He gets dismissed as a disco-era jerkoff, and the critics always hated him, but Giorgio Moroder did a *fantastic* job with the soundtrack to Midnight Express.

Posted by: qdpsteve at September 30, 2017 05:00 PM (eMKNe)

523
Just remember, if you vote for it, I'll be knowingly suffering through one of the worst movies of the last decade for your enjoyment.
This is reason enough. Assassin's Creed it is!
Honestly though, I don't believe that Assassin's Creed is worth it. I got bored about 30 min in and shut it off. But it'll be worth making you suffer.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at September 30, 2017 05:00 PM (iFZVz)

524
503 All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes
Electronica remix of Das Boot by Disco Cell:
It's got a good bass line and you can dance to it. Love the sonar echo sound. Hmm, why is my wife laughing?

526
I think Stevie Vai was the other guitarist doing the music (and appearing in the film, too).
He did. I love the song Hush (Somebody's Calling My Name) from that soundtrack.

Posted by: no good deed at September 30, 2017 05:00 PM (eIQHF)

527
Jack: somebody needs to do a movie version of that song, set during the 2016 election ;-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at September 30, 2017 05:00 PM (eMKNe)

528
520 Anyone seen American Assassin? I may have to check that out.
Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at September 30, 2017 09:58 PM (woJdg)
I saw it.
Good performance by Michael Keaton.
Horrible miscasting of Mitch Rapp. You'll want to punch him for the whole run time.
I give it a C.

529
524
This is reason enough. Assassin's Creed it is!
Honestly though, I don't believe that Assassin's Creed is worth it. I got bored about 30 min in and shut it off. But it'll be worth making you suffer.
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at September 30, 2017 10:00 PM (iFZVz)
=====
You people are so cruel...

530
514 Jack, I have not.
There's a lot of classics I have yet to catch up to. :-)
Posted by: qdpsteve at September 30, 2017 09:58 PM (eMKNe)
I envy you. I'd like to find a great movie that I haven't seen. One of my all time favorite comedy movies.

Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 05:02 PM (LuKE7)

531Wasn't Crossroads the movie version of Devil Went Down to Georgia?
Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 09:59 PM (LuKE7)
Could be, but I thought it was the Robert Johnson devil-pact myth (if there was one?! )
But now that you mention it, it did follow The Devil Went Down To Georgia pretty well.

534
The rumor about Deckard being a Skin-job started because no one in editing caught a goof.

According to Harrison Ford, he walked through the practical effect that made Rachel's eyes glow red in one scene. So Deckard's eyes also glowed red. Movie-goers spotted it and the speculation started that he was a Replicant.

Ridley Scott jumped on the bandwagon and said yes Deckard is a Replicant. Though the original screenwriter for Blade Runner says that Deckard is not a Replicant.

And the effect that started this mess? It was originally used in Fritz Lang's masterpiece Metropolis,

535
qdpsteve--check out the Martha Argerich recording of "Gaspard de la Nuit". First movement has one of the most powerful climaxes in classical music. Her performance never ceases to give me goosebumps! You might also enjoy Prokofiev's 2nd piano concerto. Not his most well-known, but unbelievably dark, angry and beautiful. Written when he was 23 in response to the suicide of a close friend.

Posted by: stinkylegs at September 30, 2017 05:04 PM (YW4J1)

536
stinkylegs, thanks!
I admit I don't know a ton of actual classical pieces. I am just about to buy back my old CDs of Ravel's Bolero and Smetana's Moldau.

Posted by: qdpsteve at September 30, 2017 05:05 PM (eMKNe)

537
Randy Newman has written many sound tracks. From "The Natural" to "James and the Giant Peach" which is a fav of mine.
Posted by: Duke of Righteous WTF? at September 30, 2017 09:05 PM (T71PA
I believe his first movie was "Cold Turkey". Dick Van Dyke plays a pastor (a chain smoker) who convinces the entire town to stop smoking in order to win a $1million challenge from a large tobacco company. Bob Newhart works under cover to sabotage their efforts. It's a very funny movie (also starring Tim Conway), and Randy's opening theme sets it up perfectly.

Posted by: bergerbilder at September 30, 2017 05:05 PM (lIZQs)

538
Someone already mentioned Jarre's Dr. Zhivago.
The main theme, labeled "Lara's Theme" when it was released as a single, actually first appears at the death of Zhivago's mother.
Whenever I hear it, I remember Zhivago asking some commie ideologue, "Have you never loved a woman?"
And in hyper-political times, when the Left is ascendant, the music really resonates.
What is real? What matters? The political or the personal?

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at September 30, 2017 05:06 PM (0jtPF)

539
534 Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at September 30, 2017 10:01 PM (xJa6I)
Yeah did the casting director not read the book?
Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 10:03 PM (LuKE7)
I don't know, man. I think they figured this kid was the 'new hot thing' that would get teenaged girls to see the movie.
The kid's terrible.

540
Posted by: bergerbilder at September 30, 2017 10:05 PM (lIZQs)
You reminded me of Bye Bye Birdie. Wow that was fapping material for me as a kid.

Posted by: Jack Sock at September 30, 2017 05:07 PM (LuKE7)

541
bergerbilder: oh man, I knew I couldn't be the only one who remembered Cold Turkey.
Interesting trivia fact: it was written, directed and produced by... Norman Lear, who was planning to go into movies if sitcoms didn't work out for him apparently; CT came out right at the time All In The Family started up. I believe he had already worked on a few theatrical films.

Posted by: qdpsteve at September 30, 2017 05:07 PM (eMKNe)

542
42 Korngold and Rozsa I can see.
Prokofiev had to endure Stalin. "Arise ye Russian people!" in Alexander Nevsky is a not so subtle warning about the Nazis and a call to arms.
Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 30, 2017 07:54 PM (TJu/K)
As a side note, if you have copies of both films, look at Alexander Nevsky and the original Conan the Barbarian. Specifically, the outlandish helmets of the Teutonic Knights in Nevsky. They're EXACTLY the same as the ones worn by Thulsa Doom and his minions in the final battle.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at September 30, 2017 05:08 PM (iFZVz)

543But the idiots are trying to remake The Thin Man. How will they get Nick to stop smoking, drinking, or using a gun to take pot-shots as Christmas ornaments?
Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR)
That's depressing. Regardless of what bone-headed modifications they'd want to make, you can't replicate that kind of chemistry at will. Just treat it is a lucky accident and hands off.
But speaking of bone-headed modifications, I take it Nick and Nora will no longer be a caucasian cis-man and a caucasian cis-woman? I wonder who they think will go watch this movie. Younger audiences who would put up with that crap will never have watched the original.

545
Often wondered why if all the actors in the world available at that time, Omar Sharif got the job. Someone had a theory that kind of looks like Pasternak. I don't see it.

Posted by: runner at September 30, 2017 05:11 PM (9qbOD)

546
502 There were two movies called: "Flight of the Phoenix." Is this referring to the original movie, or the remake version? The original movie was excellent.
Posted by: Margo of Virginia at September 30, 2017 09:55 PM (eM3Oh)
++++
Actually, the 1965 original was called "The Flight of the Phoenix", while the 2004 remake was called "Flight of the Phoenix". TJM watched and commented on the remake.
Agreed about the original. The remake was pointless and just serves to distract from the original.

557
If you want to find good movie soundtracks, check out what figure skaters have skated to. I know it sounds weird, but it's true. Examples:
Doyle: Much Ado About Nothing (Lapinski)
Little Women (Lapinski)
The TV version of East of Eden (Kwan)
Honorable mentions: The Right Stuff, Rudy, The fanfares from Independence Day (the latter skated to by Marigold Ice Unity).
Some very effective scores not often mentioned: The Blue Max, The Professionals and Apollo 13.
For aviation buffs, 633 Squadron and The Battle of Britain.
You can't go wrong with Elmer Bernstein (Magnificent Seven, Great Escape , Animal House).
Bernard Herrman had some good ones, especially North by Northwest, The Day the Earth Stood Still and Jason and the Argonauts.
And one nobody knows about: Dave, by James Newton Howard.

559
The main score from "A Bridge Too Far" is great and fitting for this epic.

Posted by: bobbymike at September 30, 2017 06:01 PM (gJ4xp)

560
Yes, I agree with whoever said that today's classical composers are to be found in the film world. It is embarrassing to admit how many sound tracks I own. The first one I bought was Jarre's Lawrence of Arabia, and I never looked back.
I have a ton of Elmer Bernsteins. He scored many of John Wayne's films. That's the best thing about today's computer jukuboxes; you can pick and choose, then make yourself a playlist that skips the stuff you're not that find of. The song from Halleluja Trial will have me up and moving no matter how icky I feel. And the same for the first cut for The Commancheros.
I am so glad I discovered Intrada Records. They remaster and reissue out of print sound tracks. They even issue soundtracks that never saw the light of day when the movie came out. I picked up Hanover Street by John Barry, Amerika by Basil Poledoris, and a couple more I thought would never make it. A couple months ago, I was able to grab my last great white whale, the score for Lady Jane by Stephen Oliver. I had resigned myself to a couple of cuts on you tube. I had gone so far as to write Doug Whatshisname, owner of Intrada, to see if he was planning to release it, and he said no, and that he hadn't even heard any chatter about it from other sound track specialists. Then suddenly, there it was, put out by some outfit I can't remember.
I think one of my most favorite single tracks is "The Ecstasy of Gold" by Morricone from the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The slow start, the increasing tempo, and that wild but with the triangle. About the only thing that comes close is Budget Meeting by Hans Zimmer for King Arthur. That man truly understands why God invented drum lines.

561
Great movie score by a band that most people write off...
To Live and Die in LA by...
Wang Chung
Give it a listen on the YouTubes...

Posted by: Some Guy in Wisconsin at September 30, 2017 07:10 PM (tDTdL)

562
Goldsmith also composed the soundtrack to John Milius' epic "The Wind and the Lion". Superb.
Danny Elfman's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" soundtrack is excellent.
Maurice Jarre also composed the sountracks to "Dr. Zhivago", "Lawrence of Arabia", "Witness", and "Is Paris Burning?" (a 1960s WWII classic that included Kirk Douglas as George Patton - LOL). Plus, he did "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome".

James Horner has been mentioned earlier. He died not long ago, in a light-plane accident. He did three of my favorite action films: "Aliens", "The Rocketeer", and "Apollo 13". His score for the launch sequence in "Apollo 13" still brings tears to my eyes.

Bernard Herrmann's music for Hitchcock films was wonderful. But his best score, IMHO, was for "Citizen Kane". The opera in the movie, the one that Kane forces his wife to star in, is a perfect example of pastiche: You're certain you've heard it before, but you can't place it -- but it was Herrmann writing "typical" grand opera.

I given an honorable mention to Alan Silvestri's music for "Cast Away" . It's lovely and fits the action perfectly; but was impressed me was that the director, Robert Zemeckis, had no music at all during the scenes when Tom Hanks is alone on his island. It worked really well: which made the return of music, as Hanks' raft leaves the island behind, even more effective. (It is a wonder to me, by the way, how Zemeckis could make movies as good as "Cast Away" and "Wag the Dog", then turn out a piece of crap like "Beowulf". Go figure.)

Many years ago, I attended a concert of the University of Chicago Symphony, in which they played the score to "Alexander Nevsky" as the film was screened. The film's sound track kept the dialogue, but had scrubbed out the music. It was extremely effective: simply wonderful. Last summer, the Chicago Symphony did the same with Howard Shore's music for "The Lord of the Rings": they did the films three nights in succession. I missed those concerts, but it appears to be an annual event for the CSO at its Ravinia Festival: it should be well worth attending.

Finally: the worse musical score in any film, period, was the music for "The Omega Man". That's a pretty awful movie, but the music is beyond horrible.

Posted by: Brown Line at October 01, 2017 12:26 AM (a5bF3)

567
My favorite movie score is the one from 1939's gone With the Wind. Unfortunately it got beat out at the Academy by Wizard of Oz.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at October 01, 2017 12:58 AM (mpXpK)

568
Agree about Lucas/Williams. Music is good if derivative but is used to cue an audience not trusted to follow the story.
Favorites - original King Kong, any Morricone, Keaton Batman. John Ford westerns.

Posted by: Jim H at October 01, 2017 01:45 AM (SaSvc)

569
I'd add "The Gaul" from Last of the Mohicans as a great score accompaniment.

Posted by: Bob at October 01, 2017 02:31 AM (iSEg0)

570
James Horner also did Glory, one of the few soundtracks in my library.
Another shoutout for Morricone for A Few Dollars More and the musical pocket watch.
What's Opera, Doc FTW!

Posted by: Grouchy Dino at October 01, 2017 03:50 AM (Gp6a2)

571
Basil Poledoris's Conan theme is perfect, the music he did for Red Dawn and many other movies is excellent as well. He's so good that his music almost all by itself made the action scenes in Starship Troopers not just fun but emotionally significant too. Except for Dina Meyer, who could give a shit what might happen when all those magazine-cover-looking-people land on the alien planet but Poledoris's music puts you there and makes you feel some of the excitement and the "shock and awe" and the dead as the invasion begins.

Posted by: JoshO at October 01, 2017 04:03 AM (Z/ntx)

572
I don't think Nevsky can be beat for an original ("produced") score. Nor can I see any case for a musical being better than My Fair Lady. So much of the original Shaw is worked into the lyrics. And the styles are so well chosen, eg, the old music hall sound of Alfred Doolittle's songs. And of course, if you want an example of songs written for actors who couldn't sing, ALL Higgins's songs are examples. (Granted, Gilbert and Sullivan had been doing this for George Grossmith a century earlier. You don't have to look it up to figure whom he played.) Also, while the Big Chill came out first, I don't think its use of music to evoke a time and place is close to the level of Goodfellas. (In another way, and true to the books, Master and Commander does so too.)
There are some other points to remember from older movies. In "M", In the Hall of the Mountain King isn't just there for effect; it's key to the plot. It's a blind beggar remembering it which leads the criminals to Lorre (Becker). Recall that this is VERY early use of sound; Lang worked it in what is, so far as I know, a new way.
Another: the association of Bach's Toccatta with horror and Halloween is wholly due to its use with the silent Phantom of the Opera. Also, if you want a double-decker problematical, you can't beat the use of The Ride of the Valkyries for the Ride of the Klan in Birth of a Nation. Try showing that in Berkeley.
Finally, remaking the Thin Man? That trick never works. God, it'll suck, as much as the Women. (In fact, the book is disappointing, as Nick and Nora on the page aren't nearly so good as Powell and Loy on screen.) The closest I can think of to a successful remake actually fails because of the music. If it weren't for Doris Day and that f***ing song, The Man Who Knew Too Much would be much better than the original, despite the loss of Peter Lorre. But there it is, and it's too key to the plot to skip, unlike the Raindrops scene in Butch Cassidy, which is the reason God invented fast forward.

Posted by: George LeS at October 01, 2017 05:20 AM (+TcCF)

573
"Ride of the Valkyries" works really well in "Apocalypse Now", as well.

Another example of well used classical music: The opening sequence of the second X-Men movie, where the "Dies Irae" section from Mozart's Requiem accompanies Nightcrawler's attack on the President: *very* effective. Bryan Singer is one of the few directors who knows classical music and uses it effectively. Also, the use the "Mars" theme from Holst's "The Planets" made the trailer for that movie one of the best I've ever seen.

The sequence from "Master and Commander", where the young sailor is cut loose in the storm, is accompanied by a passage from Vaughn Williams' "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis", one of the most glorious compositions ever penned. Its use in the scene greatly deepens what already is a very moving scene.

The use of classical music in "2001" was mentioned earlier. What isn't generally known is that Kubrick had commissioned an original score for the movie; and while the score was being prepared and recorded, he had plugged in the classical pieces as filler, while he edited the film. In the end, he found the classical pieces worked better than the score that he had commissioned, and so he kept them. BTW, the original score for "2001" is available on CD; I've heard bits of it: Meh.